No kidding, things are poppin' in Indiana

They've done it again. The New York Times showed blatant disregard for national security in giving al Qaida a virtual roadmap to a prime terrorist target in a July 11 article. They even provided information about the exact employment and an unusual means of transportation at the site. The target blabbed about in the Times and since pinpointed in other newspapers, including this one, and described as well in television accounts is Amish Country Popcorn. Despite frantic pleas from the Department of Homeland Security and Vice President Dick Cheney to preserve the secrecy, it was revealed that the company grows and distributes popcorn and is located near Berne, Ind. News accounts also tipped off the terrorists that Indiana has more potential terrorist targets than any other state, 8,591 of them. That's 50 percent more than listed on a Homeland Security database for New York and more than twice as many as located in California. Fortunately, most of the sites remain secret. Unfortunately, the strategic Berne site has been disclosed. Not content just to reveal the location of the Hoosier company, once thought safely hidden away near the Ohio line, the New York Times sought out and identified the owner, Brian Lehman, blowing his security cover. "I'm out in the middle of nowhere," Lehman was quoted. Of course, that's where a secret project such as Amish Country Popcorn would be located. "We're nothing but a bunch of Amish buggies and tractors out here," Lehman said, inadvertently disclosing an unusual means of transportation of which jihadists will take note. "No one would care," Lehman added, seeking to limit the security damage. He declined to reveal the exact reason for Amish Country Popcorn to be a target, just quipping: "Maybe because popcorn explodes?" The Times even disclosed the number of employees, five. Osama bin Laden has the Times delivered daily. So now he knows. And one wonders why the Times won't disclose to our intelligence agencies the identity of the carrier who delivers the paper and bin Laden's address. Probably some misplaced freedom-of-the-press claim. Part of the blame for the security breach belongs to a disloyal official, the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, whose tip led to the dangerous disclosure of some of our nation's most closely held secrets. This official included the popcorn place in a report of potential targets "whose criticality is not readily apparent." Criticality? Are you kidding? Of course the Berne site is critical. If it were not, it would not have been reported for the federal database by the ever-vigilant folks in the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Each state reports its potential terrorist targets. Critics in New York City and Washington, D.C., where Homeland Security has slashed risk-based grants drastically, complain and whine that listings of "silly" targets elsewhere is depriving them of funds to protect "real" targets. Silly targets? Real targets? Depends on your point of view. What's regarded as real in New York City may well seem silly in Berne. What's of real concern to frightened folks in Berne may well seem silly to folks in Washington who don't understand the importance of Amish Country Popcorn. A spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Pam Bright, provided a very Bright defense of all the Hoosier listings. "We know how we came up with our list," she said knowingly. She suggested that other states just didn't do as good a job of finding all the places where jihadists could strike. Well, Indiana certainly did a better job finding skyscrapers than did neighboring Illinois. Indiana listed 41 tall buildings that could be targets. Illinois listed only 28. Again, it's your point of view. What's tall in Indianapolis may not seem that tall in Chicago. That disloyal Homeland Security creep who leaked the popcorn site also gave away other targets for terrorists, including a highly classified petting zoo in Woodville, Ala., and a symbol of the nation's stubbornness in the face of threats, the Mule Day parade in Columbia, Tenn. When Osama's paper hit the front porch of his cave, he also could read about strategic sites for a bean fest, a flea market and a check cashing store. Dangerous disclosures. Now, critics in the news media and those late night comedians on TV make fun of the listings, especially that Indiana has the most terrorist targets of all. But Indiana did it right. As spokeswoman Bright said, if Homeland Security didn't like the list provided by Indiana, "they should have sent it back and said that's not what they wanted." The problem obviously is not with Homeland Security. It's with the New York Times. This would be humorous if it were not so serious. Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by e-mail at jcolwell@comcast.net.